Preshute Parochial School was founded in 1845 in the Main Street of the village of Manton near Marlborough. It was a small building comprising of one main school room and outside privies.

The school was built to provide all children within the sprawling parish, basic elementary education. This included youngsters from the outlying areas at Preshute Down (way up by the Ridgeway), Rockley and Clatford. Some pupils were as young as four and the trek into school would have been an epic one.

The school at Preshute was governed by a group of school managers. The members of the committee were made up of local gentry, landowners and businessmen. They held meetings to discuss everything from the school building, funds, staff and general day to day running of the establishment. It was this group of managers that decided to appoint a very capable new head teacher in December 1881.

Miss Emma Louisa Thorp accepted the post of head mistress after 59 written applications had been received. The post had been advertised in the ‘Schoolmasters’ publication and Miss Thorp’s application had already caught the eye of the Managers, despite the high volume of other potentials.

She preceded the previous mistress who had been dismissed along with two others before her. Miss Thorp agreed to a wage of £30 a year and a partly furnished house, despite her predecessors being paid £50 annually and having a fully furnished school house. She only agreed to become mistress on the proviso that she be given a pay increase at the end of the year and that her sister, Miss Florence Thorp, be given a position at the school as an assistant teacher. Her wage was to 2/ per week.

These conditions were agreed and the two sisters began very long and interesting careers at Preshute School.

I thought I would use this blog to update you on a couple of the exhibitions currently taking place in museums across the county.

Salisbury Museum

Salisbury Museum are currently showing ‘Secular to Sacred – The Story of the Lacock Cup’

Running until May 4th this exhibition showcases the stunning 15th century silver cup from the church of St Cyriac, Lacock. The cup was recently jointly acquired by The British Museum and The Wiltshire Museum, Devizes and Salisbury is the first venue to display it on this current tour.

The cup has a fascinating dual history, having been used both as a feasting cup and a holy chalice. The cup was in use at Lacock for over 400 years and was loaned to the British Museum in 1963, but continued to return to Lacock for use at religious festivals until about thirty years ago.

Alongside the Lacock cup the exhibition in Salisbury includes other church vessels from surrounding parishes including Wylye, Fisherton, Odstock, Nunton and Bodenham.

This exhibition will be followed later in May by a major exhibition ‘Turner’s Wessex’, the first ever exhibition devoted to J M W Turner’s drawings and paintings of Salisbury Cathedral, the city and its surroundings.

Trowbridge Museum

Trowbridge Museum's brand new Magna Carta exhibition ‘Game of Barons’ runs until 25th July 2015. From medieval weaponry to Lego castles, the exhibition will educate and entertain visitors of all ages. The middle ages are explored through heraldry and pageantry as well as displays about daily life, food, warfare, the troubled reigns of Henry II and Richard the Lionheart and much more.

The Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre have been preparing an up-coming display to mark the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, which is to be held at Lacock Abbey.

The display will feature three original documents: a facsimile of the 1225 Magna Carta presented to Lacock abbey after the original charter was presented to the nation; and two enrolled copies of a 1300 confirmation of the charter in the archives of the marquis of Ailesbury of Savernake and Marlborough borough which are held at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre.

These documents will be supported by a display illustrating life in Wiltshire in the 13th century and the impact of Magna Carta. Copies of documents will include images from the pageant in 1932 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the founding of Lacock abbey.

The exhibition will be at Lacock Abbey in June and July and then at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. The screens will then be available for display around the county.

A project to conserve and display 13th Century documents for the Salisbury Cathedral Magna Carta exhibition.

The Archive conservation team have recently been working on a project to conserve and display four 13th Century parchment documents for the 800th Anniversary of the Magna Carta exhibition at Salisbury Cathedral.

The documents are: a charter, an indulgence, a declaration of canonical obedience and an agreement of tithes.

We were asked to investigate a small cottage in Lower Road, Bratton a little while ago by the descendant of the original builder. It’s not often this happens, and we were rather nervous about reporting on the documentary history when the protagonists are so intimately connected to the client; the odd murder and nefarious activity has not been unknown…

It appears that the cottage built by Benjamin Emm started as two dwellings. His will of 1803 clearly stated that the house was occupied by his son James and also John Balsh which would account for the two front doors, one now blocked. Benjamin was an enterprising individual who made one small cottage pay its way!

As part of our new Facebook page we have been running a weekly feature using local newspapers from 100 years ago, “The Times This Week”. This has provided a unique perspective on Wiltshire’s history, charting the development of events 100 years ago in real time, and revealing otherwise forgotten stories of Wiltshire’s past.

Lovely incidental stories have emerged such as the two Bradford workmen engaged in painting the Gasometer who neglected to note the vessel was charging and so increasing in height, and upon finishing the job found themselves stranded with their ladder some distance below them! Eventually their plight was noticed and they were rescued through the provision of a longer ladder.

Unsurprisingly, the primary focus for much of the newspaper was the War and the paper has revealed insights into lives on the front line and on the home front.

Letters to Home

In a letter to his aunt, Percy Howell gave a detailed account of Christmas in the trenches and the famous Christmas truce. The two lines of trenches only being 200 yards apart, Howell describes hearing the German band singing on Christmas Eve, of joining in with the singing and starting a conversation. He stated ‘they did not fire a round, and of course, we were not allowed to fire either.’ After continuing the conversation throughout the night, the Germans began to come out of the trenches. He describes how, ‘on the guarantee that neither side fired’ they met half-way, shook hands, and shared cigars. He states how they Germans are ‘as fed up as we are’ and that they were ‘as friendly on Christmas Day as if they belonged to the British Army’.

Howell ends with a sobering:

“I can tell you it seems good not to hear the roar of big guns. Anyone joining us today would hardly know there was a war on, but by this time tomorrow I expect we shall have to keep our heads under, or we may stop a bullet.”

Other letters home have a rather different tone, such as a slightly cheeky letter from Private W.P. Bright of the R.A.M.C., British Expeditionary Force to his former employer Mr. J.H. Buckle of the High Street in Chippenham.

Obviously on good terms, and taken in the right spirit, a football was duly dispatched by Mr Buckle.

Reports from Returned Soldiers: A Remarkable Story of Daring Escape

On Saturday December 12th 1914 The Wiltshire Times published a report from Sergeant-Major Burke stationed at Corsham with the 3rd Battalion, Scots Guards. It is a remarkable story and extremely vividly recounted and is worth describing in detail here. It tells of his escape through enemy lines, thanks to the kindness and bravery of strangers…

Lacock is known for its famous Abbey, photography and the movies filmed there but just as important are the people who actually live, and have lived, in this wonderful village. Lacock is not just a tourist destination but a living, thriving community which is often overlooked by visitors. The Lacock Community Archive will provide an outlet for villagers to share their stories and memories through oral history, photographs and documents. We will be providing a series of free events for the residents of Lacock over the forthcoming months as part of this project.

As part of our first event we will be displaying copies of photographs of Lacock taken by Harold White from his English Villager’s collection (published 1945). The picture below is of Reverend Jeeves (taken by Harold White), vicar of Lacock at the time. There are, in fact, several photographs of the Rev. Jeeves which raised our interest and encouraged us to discover more about his life and how he came to be in Lacock. Kym Wild, a postgraduate student from Bath Spa University, began researching his life.